First time I used this site.......... I sent you a message on the site you wrote to me........ See if it went thru. I will be back from jail this afternoon to check on your reply.

Occasional visitor to Pinckney. Nora

I did the Borax and sponge routine yesterday (all except the roof - next time) and it worked great - the green of our 74 trillum came back to life very nicely - not exactly shiny, but the oxidization and most of the black spots are gone! I need some touch-ups for some stubborn spots - I might look at a specific spot remover for those, but overall the Borax worked really well.

I ordered poliglow this morning, and we'll use that come spring to get it ready for summer (shiny) fun.

Nora,
Welcome to the Forum! I was born and raised in Saginaw, my husband and I were married in 1992 on Mackinac Island - I go 'home' often to see family, and visit my sister's cottage just west of Tawas on the AuSable River!

I still swear by using the "Awesome" cleaner which can be found at The Dollar Store in a spray, or at Dollar General in quart containers for $3.00. My neighbor told me she thinks it's made out trailer whiter. I use the spray full power - let it set for just a minute or two - take the car brush to it and hose it off. For the roof, I pour some into a bucket with a little water and use the car brush.

After seeing was Vert-glass can do, I'll either be doing that or Poli-Glow when the trailer comes out of hibernation this spring. The Casita trailer I saw with Vert-glass at the Ohio Fall Gathering was amazing after 4 coats - and I understand they put 2 more coats on! The owner told me his Casita was just as dull as my Uhaul. I can't wait to see my trailer all shiny and like new this spring!!

The gel coat on our Scamp was too far gone to just polish it. Some places on top were so thin you could see through the resin. Other places below steel screws had rust stains that went clear through the gel coat. The options were to replace the gel coat or paint with an automotive type paint.

I have the experience and equipment to paint, so that was done summer before last. Can't say it went without a hitch, but there is a nice smooth glossy 2-part polyurethane plus clear coat finish, where before it was a dull grey splotchy white.

If you can get a good finish with Poly-Glo, I would suggest doing so. A repaint job is a lot of work if you do it yourself, or pretty expensive if you pay someone to do it right.

I repainted my 13' and it is looks fantastic. Mine had too many spider cracks in the gelcoat to simply polish out, so filling, sanding, and painting was the best solution. I wax it every six months to keep it looking like new - it gets tons of compliments.

Incidentally, I was just in a boat yard today (Marina del Rey, CA), and talking to the manager about having my 16' polished. He showed me a boat that was currently being stripped of the Polyglo material, it wasn't a pretty sight at all. The polyglo had turned yellow and cracked all over like an eggshell. He said he loves it when boat owners apply the stuff because they end up paying him a bunch of money to strip it, and then to polish the gelcoat the right way. After seeing that boat today, I would never put Polygo or Vertglas on my Egg!